Dear Adina, My 3 year old daughter announced in front of the whole extended family that she hates Grandma. It was mortifying! We did not know what to do and I think we handled it inappropriately. We yelled, accused and shamed her. When the smoke cleared, everyone felt awful. What would have been a good […]
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Dear Adina, My son roughhouses, teases and belittles his sister. I don’t know what to do. I have tried saying, “How would you like it if your sister, hit, teased or belittled you?” That does not seem to work. Any other ideas? This is a loaded question. Sibling Rivalry is tough to handle. In my […]
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I grew up with 3 sisters, so sports to us was sprinting to the mall for the latest sale, racing out of the kitchen before my mother could catch us for dishwashing duties and slam dunk- who was going to get the best date. So I was a little surprised when I suggested a Sunday […]
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Instead of: Try this: My daughter is 3 years old and she does not listen. I tell her it is time to go and get in the car and she just continues playing with her toys. I tell her to come in for dinner...
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Instead of: Try this: […]
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My son has to write in a journal every night for his English class. He has a hard time coming up with topics and asks me to help. He does not like any of my suggestions and we end up fighting or I end up just writing it for him. I have had enough. What […]
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Instead of: […]
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Instead of: Try this: Children are often complaining and it drives us parents crazy. There are some things that children say that just pushes our buttons. We often have difficulty remaining calm and we respond in anger. This just makes the situation worse. We should try not to engage our children in conversation when […]
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Dear Adina, My kids are always fighting over who sits where at the dinner table. They all want to sit near my husband. Everyday there is a battle. I am getting so tired from this fighting. It’s...
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Maddie was very upset. Her 4 year old son, Eli, was playing trucks with his friend, Sam. Suddenly, Eli grabbed the toy that Sam was playing with and wouldn’t give it back to him, making Sam cry. When Maddie admonished him for his behavior and made him go sit on the couch, he started to […]
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I have always advocated problem solving with kids. It has always served me and my family well. Here is how I used it to handle, a most annoying but probably pretty standard domestic situation: In the summer with all the kids home, I was getting really irritated. I usually buy 2 bags of the same […]
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As I said in a previous post, working with kids to solve the little and big domestic problems is a great alternative to accusing,giving commands and punishing kids. Here is another story on how this works: Our family laptop computer that we keep on the desk in the kitchen was not working. It does get […]
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Praising children appropriately is an art. Many of us have been taught to praise children, by saying, “Good Job!”,”You are the best!”, “You are such a good girl!” Research has shown that this type of praise does not improve children’s self-esteem. Why? Because the above praise is actually a judgement of a child’s behavior. When […]
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sex Bunny_MadellineDear Adina, When I am busy in the kitchen getting breakfast or dinner ready my kids often do things to try and get my attention. I get so frustrated and mad. If they would just leave me alone and let me finish up I could get things done and then spend time with […]
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In our previous post we discussed how to help our kids use the internet safely. In our last article of the series, we will talk about involving our kids in making the rules for the house computer and to remember that our families need time to download, I mean, connect without technology. 1. Decide […]
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Don’t: Do: Parents are always wondering how to handle kids when they complain or when they express […]
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In a previous post we discussed ways to help kids are kids safe on the internet and more specifically about letting your child have a facebook account. I had a lot of feedback from that post. It seems as if monitoring your kids online can be a quite a job and is not so simple. […]
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Dear Adina, My son is 13 and now he wants a facebook account. I have heard all the horror stories and I am really reluctant to allow it. I know many of his friends are on facebook and he feels left out. What should I do? I am in the same boat […]
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Dear Adina, My child will not talk to me. I try to talk to him but he doesn’t respond or ignores me. It seems to me to border on rude. What can I do to get him to talk? This is a question that I get a lot. You are not alone. […]
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In a previous post we discussed the difference between an “Asking Parent” and a “Telling Parent.” That means instead of telling kids what to do all the time we should ask them questions that will teach them to be responsible, cooperate and involved in coming up with solutions for their everyday problems. A “Telling” parents […]
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